From the FT this morning
Lots of folks here are pursuing a second language in their FIRE days, and this article points to additional benefits.
Link to article here FT.com / US / Society - Bilingualism delays dementia, say experts
I was not aware that some thought growing up bilingual was a cognitive handicap. All the nieces and nephews on DW's side grew up bilingual (as did our children), some trilingual, and they often seem strange but never handicapped.New studies have demolished the old myth that growing up bilingual is a mild cognitive handicap. On the contrary, recent research shows that children who speak two languages benefit from the extra mental exercise – and that in old age bilingualism protects the brain against dementia.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Washington heard that bilingual speakers tend to outperform monolinguals in certain mental abilities, such as editing out irrelevant information and focusing on what is important.
“There is a set of cognitive processes known as the executive control system, which is the most important part of your mind,” said Ellen Bialystok, psychology professor at York University, Toronto. “In a large programme of research we have been able to show that this executive control system is enhanced in people who are actively bilingual.”
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She said infants thrived mentally, learning two languages at the same time from birth. They never confused the two.
“These findings provide even stronger evidence that human infants are equally prepared to grow up bilingual as they are monolingual,” said Prof Werker. “The task of language separation is something they are prepared to do from birth.”
Lots of folks here are pursuing a second language in their FIRE days, and this article points to additional benefits.
Link to article here FT.com / US / Society - Bilingualism delays dementia, say experts